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On Tuesday, September 20, 2016 the announcement was officially made that “Pastor Danny” Duchene, the recently named CR Inside Pastor at Saddleback Church, was named the National Director for CR Inside. This latest announcement is the culmination of many changes that have occurred over the last two years in the CR Inside National Team. God is on the move in mighty ways in the prisons and jails in our nation, and Pastor Danny is a great choice to lead CR Inside into the future.

At the age of 18, Danny Duchene sat in a California county jail cell, coming out of an intense withdrawal from a heavy addiction to alcohol and marijuana. He had been arrested for participating in a crime that resulted in the killing of two men, and now faced a double life sentence. Duchene first prayed for forgiveness behind bars. “At 19, I was still feeling the new Christian euphoria of being free—feeling like I had a new connection with God, that I was kind of focused on him,” Duchene said in an interview with The Local Church. “I was still young and naïve about the world ahead.”

After two decades of participating in prison ministries, with scopes ranging from drama to leadership, Duchene heard of the “40 Days of Purpose” curriculum, which walks participants through Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life. In 2003, he contacted Warren, who not only provided the curriculum to Duchene, but also led a service at the state prison where Duchene’s study took place. That night, 100 men converted, and a church was born inside the prison’s walls.

But Warren didn’t just help Duchene with his ministry; he also wrote a letter to the prison’s parole board pleading for his release. In December 2014, that plea was granted. Duchene now oversees Saddleback’s inmate ministry, which has 900 programs currently running in more than 100 prisons nationwide and has distributed hundreds of thousands of books and study guides.

Please be sure to check out more information on Pastor Danny’s story on our CR Inside Team Page.